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ArKaos’ North American distributor, A.C. Lighting Inc, has supplied an ArKaos Stage Media Server with MediaMaster software and Video Mapper feature, to theWit, a AAA Four Diamond Hotel in Chicago. The new system has been installed to facilitate customized visual experiences for the hotel’s newly-opened, state-of-the-art 3D mapping installation, theWall.

Located in its prestigious roof-top bar and cocktail lounge, ROOF, theWall is the first of its kind, being a permanent 3D mapping installation that provides immersive visual and optical illusion entertainment to the corporate hospitality world.

Measuring approximately 20 feet wide by 12 feet tall, theWall integrates the ArKaos Stage Server with sophisticated robotic cameras and intricate stage lighting on a custom designed and built 3D projection surface with motion production capability and a retractable flat screen.

The custom ArKaos Stage Server at the heart of theWall is running MediaMaster Pro with projection through the Video Mapper and LED mapper softwares. The Stage Server was selected for its massive structural strength, stability and reliability to run live video shows in real-time.

The ArKaos Stage Server is used as a visual synthesizer that allows the client to trigger and manipulate customized graphic content on a large scale on ROOF, it’s a plug-and-play solution that is also fully capable of triggering the existing DMX lighting in the venue.

theWit’s artist-in-residence and digital content producer, along with Dan Block, also known as "DBlock", who excels at 3D visual creation, have been using Cinema 4D and Adobe After Effects with various plug-ins to create custom visual effects and a fully-customized graphic show specifically adapted to theWall’s new 3D structure, taking advantage of the ArKaos Stage Server’s live video output features.

The Stage Server has two full HD outputs to separately manage and run the club’s existing LED and new projection screens, and can run up to 8 layers of video simultaneously. This allows Thompson and Block to perform a live mix of the created video content on the screens and with the DMX lighting system.

theWall is the brainchild of CEO and founder of theWit, Scott Greenberg who, exploring fields of technology outside the retail and hospitality industry, recently discovered the use of 3D projection and video mapping in live music and gaming. The discovery inspired him to create theWall as first dedicated and permanent 3D video mapping surface in a rooftop lounge.

"Similar technological experiences are more usually found in large-scale entertainment productions, broadcasts and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festivals," says theWit. "With the introduction of theWall, theWit can offer multiple industries the same phenomenal visual engagement, from musical performances and special events to corporate presentations and product launches."

The rise of 3D mapping within the music and entertainment industries has been phenomenal but the recent installation at theWit shows its advantages are becoming recognized outside these traditional markets and adopted as a flexible, innovative, immersive solution for spectacular events in hospitality and corporate venues.

"This video mapping imagery has become popular in telecasts along with the film and music communities and this is the first extensive use of this technology in an intimate, rooftop space in the hospitality industry," claims theWit. "TheWall installation will dramatically enhance the visual presentation of the world-class DJs and electronic dance music (EDM) artists who perform throughout the year on ROOF, many of whom are experimenting with new digital art technologies. ROOF will now be able to provide an extraordinary canvas within a unique environment for these performers and an immersive, one-of-a-kind experience for guests."

"But more than this, in an exciting innovation, corporate clients will also be able to use the new 3D multi-visual system for product launches, special events or unique parties by working with our in-house creative team."

Motion picture studios, gaming manufacturers, professional sports organizations, fashion houses and tech corporations are just a few of the industry sectors that theWit will target and attract with theWall.

See ArKaos in action at the InfoComm (Orlando, USA) 12th - 14th June. ArKaos will be exhibiting with A.C. Lighting at the forthcoming InfoComm show in Orlando. (stand 5775).